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University School's mission includes the responsibility to serve as a positive force in the greater community, and we welcome all interested members of the community to our public gatherings.

Open House for Interested and Prospective Families on Mon., 10/9 - On Monday, October 9, University School of the Lowcountry will have an Open House. The event will begin at 6 p.m. at USL’s campus (690 Coleman Blvd. in Mount Pleasant), and interested families are welcome to drop by and learn more. There will be a formal presentation from 6:15-7 p.m., and there will be time beforehand and afterward to meet and ask questions of students, teachers and parents.

Additional Fall Open House dates are 11/6 (Mon.) and 12/4 (Mon.) at 6:00 PM.

Three of our 7th grade students qualified for State Recognition based on SAT scores received during 2016-2017 academic year (Bailey Chave, Conor Seng, and Leo Vaglienti). They earned the award by scoring at or above the national average (better than 50% of the nation’s high school juniors and seniors) on at least one part of the SAT. A USL 7th grade student has garnered State Recognition every year that the School has been in operation, and over 40% of our students have achieved State Recognition in our history. Congratulations!

On Saturday, March 25, 2017, University School was one of the top performers, collectively and individually, at Christ Our King-Stella Maris School’s Mathletics Competition. Over 250 students competed, and schools participating included local independent & public schools and Catholic schools from across the entire state. We had a top three individual in all of the divisions in which we competed! USL has participated in this competition for 5 years, and for the 5th year in a row our students won at least one Team Event! Congratulations to our students and teachers!
* Level 2 Individual Event (Grades 4-5) - 3rd Place - Sean Murphy
* Level 3 Individual Event (Grades 6-7) - 2nd Place - Charlotte Adragna
* Level 4 Individual Event (Grades 7-8) - 3rd Place - Bailey Chave
* Level 4 Team Event (Grades 7-8) - 1st Place - Bailey Chave, Pai Doesburg, Mary Lee, Leo Vaglienti, Jack Woodward

In mid-March 2017, Senior Anne Adragna won a Silver Medal with Distinction for her Writing Portfolio in the 2017 Scholastic Art & Writing Awards national competition! She is one of only 15 students to earn this award, and this includes a $1000 scholarship and an invitation to the award ceremony at Carnegie Hall in New York City in June! With the guidance and inspiration of Middle & Upper School English teacher Sara Peck, Anne has garnered 7 Gold Keys, 7 Silver Keys, a National Silver Key, and this Award.

A March 17, 2017, field trip to the USS Whidbey Island (LSD-41) at Charleston's Union Pier, provides a window into how University School integrates field learning to teach our students to be active citizens. We believe the best way a school can teach students about the sacrifices soldiers make and have made in America's history is to take them to current military bases and significant historic sites so they can interact with soldiers, let them know they care, and see and learn for themselves.

On February 21, 2017, our Middle School Quiz Bowl team won 2nd place at the State Championship today in Columbia! The competition began a few weeks ago with 36 teams in nine regions, and the region winners met today in three groupings. We won our semi-final matches and then persevered through the finals to the Championship Game. It was a thrilling and close game against Cardinal Newman, and we came up short by 25! All of the teams represented their schools with dignity, and our thanks to Cardinal Newman and SCISA for hosting the competition. We had a great time! Congratulations to mentor Anna Misciagna and team members Charlotte Adragna, Bailey Chave, Kessler Kreutner-Eady, Caitlin Parkman, Conor Seng, and Leo Vaglienti. In our 4th year of fielding a Middle School team, we have won our region 3x and been State Runners-up 2x!

In early-February, 2017, the results for the Scholastic Art & Writing competition for the Southeast Region were revealed. This competition is for 7-12th graders, and this year our 7th-12th graders entered 100+ works of fiction, nonfiction, humor, personal memoir, and poetry and received an amazing 59 awards! 79% of our students were honored. 12 Gold Keys were won, and these pieces will move on to the national level. Typically the number of submissions in the region numbers in the tens of thousands and for the country is 300,000+. For some context, please know it is our practice and belief to have all students take part in this competition. University School is not a single discipline school (i.e. our main focus is not just the arts, or writing, or STEM). Instead, we want our students to learn from amazing teachers and to be challenged in a wide array of subjects. Combined with all of the experiential learning we do through our LOTC program, our students become well-rounded academically, socially, and emotionally to the highest order. We also love to test ourselves and hold ourselves accountable by having our students lead tours, encounter the public and all sorts of people through LOTCs, take part in national assessments, and participate in academic competitions. We are not sequestered on campus, but we are a national leader in exploring the greater world. So, our setting the bar high for all of our students and competing in the Scholastic Art and Writing competition is a natural thing for us! Our talented and driven group of learners have been inspired and guided to become better and more confident writers by their devoted teachers, especially Middle & Upper School English teacher Sara Peck -- success that has been recognized by the Scholastic Writing Awards!

On February 8, 2017, we competed in the SCISA Middle School Quiz Bowl regional competition. Congratulations, Region Champs! We have been Region Champions 3x in the last four years ('13-'14, '14-'15, and '16-'17) and State Runners-Up in 2014-2015!

From January 4-9, 2017, the The Midde School traveled to Alabama. Click the link on each day to read recaps and see pictures from that day (and learn more about USL!). Day One (Scottsboro - Scottsboro Boys Museum and Unclaimed Baggage Center); Day Two (Huntsville and Muscle Shoals - US Space and Rocket Center and Alabama Music Hall of Fame); Day Three (Tuscumbia and Florence - Helen Keller Birthplace and Museum, Frank Lloyd Wright's Rosenbaum House, W.C. Handy Museum); Day Four (Monroeville and Selma - Old Monroe County Courthose / Harper Lee & Truman Capote, National Voting Rights Museum and Institute and Edmund Pettus Bridge); Day Five (Montgomery and Auburn; capital and civil rights tour, tour of Auburn University); Day Six (Tuskegee - Tuskegee University tour and NPS sites, Tuskee Airmen National Historic Site). Each year's MS trip is distinct, and prior years have been to Pennsylvania, Georgia, Florida, Eastern-Tennessee & Western North Carolina, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, and Columbia.

On January 6, 2017, The Jackson County (Alabama) Daily Sentinel newspaper featured the The Middle School's visit to the Scottsboro Boys Museum as a front page story ("Learning History" page one and page three).

On Tuesday, November 29, 2016, The Post and Courier shared senior Anne Adragna's thoughts about her University School experience ("Proud Student") in the Letters to the Editor.

On Friday, November 18, University School students, faculty, parents, alumni, and alumni parents took part in the Day of Caring service projects at twelve sites across Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester counties through the Trident United Way in the Lowcountry. This year we served at Midland Park Primary, Pinehurst Elementary, Jane Edwards Elementary, International Primate Protection League, South Santee Senior and Community Center, Fresh Future Farm, Footlight Players, Whitesville Elementary, Sweetgrass Assisted Living Village, Chicora Elementary, Windwood Farm Home for Boys, and the Dorchester County Library. Our relationship with some of these organizations extends back to the founding of University School, and it is neat to support and learn about these schools and non-profits in the greater-Charleston area. This was our eighth consecutive year of participating in the Day of Caring, and we contributed 500+ hours of service to our community. Click here for the 2016 slideshow of our day!

In November 2016, we received the results of our 2015-2016 school year audit from the accounting firm of Glaser and Company. USL has its business-side in good order and carries no debt. Although financial measurements will never be a true indicator of the School’s success, some are very important for the long-term health and viability of the school. One of these is how much of every dollar the School spends that goes to supporting its mission. In the case of University School for 2015-2016, $0.90 of every dollar spent went back to supporting the mission of the School. For our peer schools, the average range is $.68-75.

On November 8, 2016, as we do every year on Election Day, students administered exit polls to voters. We focused on President and Vice President, Congressional races, some local races including the Charleston County School Board, and the Charleston County transportation and green space sales tax referendum. Each student canvassed voters at two demographically different precincts, and we visited 26 total voting sites (24 in Charleston County and 2 in Berkeley County). Students then compiled the information in order to predict the outcomes using our exit poll results. Our 2016 efforts were spotlighted in one of the evening's lead articles on the Post and Courier ("Exit polls show Clinton wins Charleston County") and WCBD Channel 2 profiled our civics and exit polling program ("Kids conduct Lowcountry exit polls") on their evening broadcast. On November 10, Post and Courier reporter Paul Bowers gave a comprehensive look at our exit polling ("Student exit pollsters saw the election unfold up close"). On November 13, Robert Behre of the Post and Courier showcased the agenda-setting role of our exit polling by citing the results of an opinion question we posed to voters in Mt. Pleasant about full-time or part mayor and another about the idea of single-member districts for Town Council ("Mount Pleasant closer to a single-member district vote"). On November 16, Charlie Morrison of the Daniel Island news focused on our efforts at precincts on Daniel Island and shared the story of each member of our group ("The Polling Prodigies"). Click here for the results of our 2016 exit polling and predictions!

On October 26, 2016, we won First Place Team at the South Carolina Independent School Association Middle School Math Meet today! This included having two of the top six high scorers for the whole competition, and our other team placed Sixth overall! Congratulations to all of the participating students and our Middle School Math teacher, Nikki Brockman. The following were our participating students: Bailey Chave, Pai Doesburg, Zoe Gregg, Jack Lee (Sixth overall individual), Mary Lee, Juliana Leone, Anna Misciagna, Evan Turk, Leo Vaglienti (First overall individual), and Jack Woodward. Thanks to Mrs. Brockman for taking the team to Sumter and Ellie Manucy (11th grade) for helping as cheerleader and supporter. Congratulations to the teachers and the students, and our gratitude to SCISA the Sumter County Civic Center for hosting this event! This is our fourth year of participating in this competition, and we’ve now placed Second and First (x3). Coupled with our Second Place finish in last year's High School Meet, we are on quite a roll in Mathematics! This is quite a testament to our Math program at University School, and kudos go to our Math teachers in all three divisions: Nikki Brockman, Beth Donoghue, and Chelisa Elmore Williams. Our students also benefit from our individualized approach to the subject. In the Middle School, for example, students take classes at the level where they need to be. This includes 8th graders taking Pre-Algebra, Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra II. No other school in the state does this.

On Sunday, October 16, we won Best School Booth at the Mt. Pleasant Children's Day Festival at Park West! A month ago, USL's Art teacher Jaime Zollars led students through exercises to generate ideas for our booth that corresponded with the Election theme. The booth design was beautiful and the game was fun! Children visiting our booth got to "vote" for their favorite ice cream flavor by throwing a scoop into the cone! Thanks to Mrs. Zollars and all of the USL community members who helped set up/clean up our booth and represented University School at the Festival!

In University School's 10th anniversary year, our first high school class will graduate in May. It is only fitting, therefore, that the first member of USL's high school, senior Allison Horan, would be our first recipient of a National Merit Scholarship Program Commended Student award for the 2017 competition. Commended Students placed in the top 5% of the more than 1.6 million students who entered the competition by taking the 2015 PSAT/NMSQT (Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test). To learn more about Allison's experience at USL, please see this October 26, 2016. article from the Moultrie News about her. Congratulations, Allison! Kudos also to classmate Anne Adragna for her outstanding performance, placing in the top 6%!

On Saturday, April 18, 2016, University School was one of the top performers, collectively and individually, at Christ Our King-Stella Maris School’s Mathletics Competition. Over 250 students competed, and schools participating included local independent & public schools and Catholic schools from across the entire state. Congratulations to our students and teachers!
* Level 4 Individual Event (Grades 7-8) - 1st Place - Thomas Boyle,3rd Place - Allison Li, 4th Place - Garrison Wettengel, 5th Place - Sabrina Lawrence
* Level 4 Team Event (Grades 7-8) - 1st Place - Thomas Boyle, Ron Kalus, Sabrina Lawrence, Allison Li, and Isabel Prioleau

On Thursday, April 7, 2016, our Lower School (grades 4-5) Quiz Bowl team won their region! This means they will take part in the State Quiz Bowl later this month. We competed against Pinewood Prep, Charleston Collegiate, and Coastal Christian, and our students won all three of their matches. We are proud of the students: Charlotte Adragna, Jackie Berenyi, Kessler Kreutner-Eady, Mia Leone, Caitlin Parkman, and William Wettengel. We are grateful for the generosity of our hosts at Pinewood and all of the teams for a good competition and time together.

In early-March, 2016, four USL students were named Scholastic Art and Writing national award winners, and University School won 4 of the 50 national awards for writing that students in South Carolina received! We had 17 regional Gold Key winners, and they proceeded to the national competition. National medalists represent the top 1% of submissions to the 2016 Scholastic Awards. This competition is for 7-12th graders, and this year our 7th-11th graders entered 120 works of fiction, nonfiction, personal memoir, and poetry and received an amazing 94 awards at the regional level! 84% of our students were honored, and over 90% of our 8th graders garnered an award for writing in 7th or 8th grade. Typically the number of submissions in the region numbers in the tens of thousands and for the country is 300,000+. University School has four national medalists (attached picture with MS/US Writing Teacher Sara Peck): Anne Adragna (11th) - National Silver Key for her poem "The Grass 524 Miles Away"Hannah Godsill (7th) - National Gold Key for her poem "Bullet Stains"Daniel Kalus (8th) - National Gold Key for his short story "Three Views on the Same Matter"Allison Li (8th) - National Gold Key for her poem "As the Months Drag On"

On February 25, 2016, several interested students took part in the Charleston Air Force Base's Tuskegee Airmen program yesterday. The local CBS station, Channel 5, composed a video story about it for their evening news yesterday, and it is neat to see some of our students taking part.

The spirit of Learning Outside the Classroom is to explore for oneself, and this allows one to make informed decisions based on experience. In mid-February, groups of students had the chance to attend presidential events for Jeb Bush, John Kasich, Marco Rubio, Donald Trump, and Hillary Clinton. Students have had the chance to assess presidential candidates and how they present themselves. It is always neat to see adults buzz with the presence of students, and our children appreciate this positive feedback and get a lot of practice talking with strangers as they field questions. US Senator Tim Scott was on hand for the Rubio event, and it was neat for students to see him again because he visited USL last year. We had guest speakers from the Republican, Democratic, Green, and Libertarian parties. Donald Trump was at a private plantation in Walterboro for the Sportsmen for Trump event. Trump only spoke for 15 minutes, but there was a large crowd of 2000+. The students saw and talked with Mt. Pleasant Mayor Linda Page. Another highlight was Post and Courier reporter Paul Bowers interviewing the students about their thoughts, and he quoted two of them in his recap article.

In early-February, 2016, the results for the Scholastic Art & Writing competition for the Southeast Region were revealed. This competition is for 7-12th graders, and this year our 7th-11th graders entered 120 works of fiction, nonfiction, personal memoir, and poetry and received an amazing 94 awards! 84% of our students were honored. 17 Gold Keys were won, and these pieces will move on to the national level. Typically the number of submissions in the region numbers in the tens of thousands and for the country is 250,000+. It is our practice and belief to have all of our eligible students take part in this competition. Our talented and driven group of learners have been inspired and guided to become better and more confident writers by their devoted teachers -- success that has been recognized by the Scholastic Writing Awards!

On February 4, 2016, we had a successful day at the SCISA State Literary Meet, and we are proud of our participants and are grateful to Sara Peck, our Middle and Upper School English teacher, for inspiring and chaperoning them. As with our LOTCs that place students in all sorts of situations to learn, competitions like this allow students to test and push themselves -- and then learn from the experience. We participated in 1-2 events a few years ago, and this was only our third year fielding a full-complement of students in the array of fields. It was a busy day with a large contingent of schools present. Congratulations to following top finishers:Allison Horan, 11th grade, for winning 2nd Place in High School Girls essay writing. Gabby Villacres, 8th grade, for winning 3rd Place in Middle School Girls extemporaneous speaking. Allison Li, 8th grade, for winning 1st Place in Middle School Girls essay writing. Participants: Middle School Oral Interpretation: Julian Griffin & Cayleigh Nicholson -- Middle School Extemporaneous Speaking: Daniel Kalus & Gabby Villacres -- Middle School Essay: Rhett Baldwin & Allison Li -- Upper School Extemporaneous Speaking: Kennon Saad & Anne Adragna -- Upper School Essay: Miko Crowley & Allison Horan --Upper School Oral Interpretation: Ellie Manucy & Cole Jones

On January 19, 2016, we won First Place Team at the South Carolina Independent School Association Middle School Math Meet, and this included having two of the top three high scorers for the whole competition! Congratulations to all of the participating students and our Middle School Math teachers: Mrs. Brockman, Mrs. Lawrie, and Ms. Elmore. The following were our participating students: Thomas Boyle (Third overall individual), Ron Kalus, Sabrina Lawrence, Allison Li (First overall individual), Isabel Prioleau, Julian Hill, Daniel Kalus, Mary Lee, Cayleigh Nicholson, Alex Pawlik, Jack Woodward. This is our third year of participating in this competition, and we’ve now placed First, Second, and First. Coupled with our Second Place finish in last week's High School Meet, we are on quite a roll in Mathematics! This is quite a testament to our Math program at University School, and kudos go to our Math teachers in all three divisions: Mrs. Brockman, Ms. Donoghue, Ms. Elmore, and Mrs. Lawrie. Our students also benefit from our individualized approach to the subject. In the Middle School, for example, students take classes at the level where they need to be. This includes 8th graders taking Pre-Algebra, Algebra, Geometry, and Algebra II. No other school in the state does this.

On January 12, 2016, we won Second Place Team at the South Carolina Independent School Association High School Math Meet! We are proud of all of the participating students -- Anne Adragna, Thomas Boyle, Allison Horan, Allison Li, Sandy Otap -- and our Upper School Math teachers, Mrs. Brockman and Mrs. Elmore! As our current highest grade is 11th, this is an amazing accomplishment -- including a top 3 individual high scorer! This is our second year of participating in this competition, and we’ve now placed Second and Fourth. This is also quite a testament to our Math program at University School, including the strong foundation that is established in the Intermediate and Middle Schools with Mrs. Brockman, Mrs. Lawrie, Ms. Elmore, Ms. Donoghue, and Mrs. Koches. Congratulations to the teachers and the students!

On Friday, November 13, University School students, faculty, parents, alumni, and alumni parents took part in National Day of Caring service projects at thirteen sites across Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester counties through the Trident United Way in the Lowcountry. This is one of the biggest Days of Caring in America, and we contributed over 500 hours of service for the 2015 Day of Caring at Midland Park Primary, Pinehurst Elementary, Jane Edwards Elementary, FamilyCorps, Carter-May Assisted Living Home, International Primate Protection League, South Santee Senior and Community Center, Tri-County Family Ministries, Fresh Future Farm, Footlight Players, Matilda Dunston Elementary, Chicora Elementary, and Windwood Farm Home for Boys. Our relationship with some of these organizations extends back to the founding of University School, and it is neat to support and learn about these schools and non-profits in the greater-Charleston area. The Post and Courier had a nice article about the DoC ("Day of Caring turns out thousands to give back to community"), and it features pictures of some of our students at Fresh Future Farm along with an examination of our work there. Click here for a slideshow of our day!

In the November 8, 2015 edition, Post and Courier columnist Brian Hicks builds upon the results of a survey question in our exit poll from Tuesday about full vs. part-time mayor for Mount Pleasant ("Mount Pleasant should listen to voters on strong-mayor government"). After highlighting the history and reliability of our students' efforts over the years, Hicks focuses on the overwhelming support for a full-time mayor that was expressed in this survey question and expands upon it by looking at municipal government forms in other big cities in the region. The piece ends with a call to heed the exit poll results and move to a full-time mayor format in Mount Pleasant. Beyond the lessons already learned from Tuesday about social skills, math, governance, statistics, etc., the students have now played a role in agenda setting. This means their work has started/contributed to a public debate in Mount Pleasant.

The Upper School Quiz Bowl team won their region today! This means they will take part in the High School State Quiz Bowl on Tuesday, November 17. We competed against Charleston Collegiate, First Baptist, and Northwood Academy, and our students won all three of their matches. This was an amazing outcome considering it was our first time ever participating in a high school quiz bowl competition! Congratulations to team members Anne Adragna, Miko Crowley, Allison Horan, Cole Jones, Ellie Manucy, and Kennon Saad!

Sara Peck, our MS/US Writing teacher, created a Novel Club last year (2013-2014). It meets on Fridays after school, and last year's efforts culminated in three students submitting novels to the Scholastic Art and Writing Competition. Congratulations to Allison Li, 7th grade, for being honored with a regional Gold Key for her medieval fantasy novel entitled Unity! Her work is now being considered for national recognition. As for the Novel Club, there are now nine students who are writing novels for next year's competition!

Seven of our 7th grade students qualified for State Recognition based on SAT scores received during 2014-2015 academic year (Thomas Boyle, Daniel Kalus, Ron Kalus, Sabrina Lawrence, Allison Li, Cayleigh Nicholson, Gabby Villacres). They earned the award by scoring at or above the national average (better than 50% of the nation’s high school juniors and seniors) on at least one part of the SAT. This number is the same or more than any school, public or private, in South Carolina. This is the 2nd time in our school's eight year's of operation that we have had seven students receive State Recognition in one class. A USL 7th grade student has garnered State Recognition every year that the School has been in operation, and over 40% of our students have achieved State Recognition in our history. Congratulations!

On March 5, 2015, our Middle School Quiz Bowl team won 2nd place in the State Quiz Bowl today in Columbia! The competition began last month with 30+ teams in nine regions, and the nine region winners met today in three groupings. In the morning session we defeated Pinewood Prep and St. Anne Catholic (Sumter), and then we faced off against St. Joseph's Catholic (Columbia) and St. Andrew's School (Savannah). We beat St. Andrew's, and then St. Joseph's did as well. This set up the Championship match, and St. Joseph's prevailed. We are especially pleased because this was only our second year participating in the Quiz Bowl competition! All of the teams were spirited and talented, and we enjoyed the the entire day. Cardinal Newman did an exceptional job hosting all of the teams and making us feel welcome. We are proud of our team members: Miko Crowley, Jack Frain, Ron Kalus, Sanders Linker, Isabel Prioleau, Garrison Wettengel, and Daniel Kalus! * Thanks also to the students and faculty at University School of the Lowcountry for the kind banner that they made for the team!

On February 19, 2015, our Middle School Quiz Bowl team won their region. This means we will take part in the State Quiz Bowl on Thursday, March 5. We competed against Orangeburg Prep School, W. Wyman King Academy, and Patrick Henry Academy. We are especially pleased because this was only our second year participating in the Quiz Bowl competition, and it was our second region championship. Congratulations to team members Miko Crowley, Jack Frain, Ron Kalus, Sanders Linker, Isabel Prioleau, Garrison Wettengel, and Daniel Kalus!

On February 4, 2015, fourteen USL students competed in the SCISA State Literary Meet. We are very proud of our students and are grateful for the teachers who chaperoned them. As with our LOTCs that place students in all sorts of situations to learn, competitions like this allow students to test and push themselves -- and then learn from the experience. It was a busy day with a large contingent of schools present (over 90 schools and 850+ students), and our students learned a lot and enjoyed the day with their teachers. Here are our participants: 3rd Grade Storytelling: Charlotte Halford; 4th Grade Poetry Recitation: Brian DeMichael & Vann Hagood; 5th Grade Poetry Recitation: Zoe Gregg & Benjamin Halford (Merritt Baldwin alternate); Middle School Oral Interpretation: Will Courtney (Dramatic) & Cayleigh Nicholson (Humorous); Middle School Extemporaneous Speaking: William Eustis & Kat Favre; Middle School Essay: Rivers Ulmer & Gabby Villacres; Upper School Extemporaneous Speaking: Anne Adragna; Upper School Essay: Sandy Otap; Upper School Oral Interpretation (Humorous): Allison Horan. Congratulations to Cayleigh Nicholson, 7th, for winning 2nd Place in Middle School Oral Interpretation!

On January 20, 2015, we placed 4th out of 24 schools and 36 teams at the South Carolina Independent School Association High School Math Meet. As our current highest grade is 10th, we competed against juniors and seniors and did amazing -- including a top 3 individual high scorer! Congratulations to all of the participating students and our USL Math teachers: Mrs. Brockman, Mrs. Lawrie, Ms. Donoghue, Mrs. Koches, and Mr. Zenauskas!

On November 14, 2014, University School students, faculty, and parents took part in National Day of Caring service projects at eleven sites across Charleston, Berkeley, and Dorchester counties through the Trident United Way in the Lowcountry. This is one of the biggest Days of Caring in America, and we contributed over 500 hours of service at Midland Park Primary, Jane Edwards Elementary, Windsor Hill Elementary, Chicora Elementary, FamilyCorps, Carter-May Assisted Living Home, Berkeley Citizens, International Primate Protection League, South Santee Senior and Community Center, Fresh Future Farm, and Windwood Farm Home for Boys.

On Wednesday, October 29, 2014, we won Second Place Team at the South Carolina Independent School Association Middle School Math Meet, and this included having three of the top six high scorers for the whole competition (over 25 schools and 200+ students)! We fielded two teams, and they got 2nd and 9th overall. Congratulations to all of the participating students (Thomas Boyle, William Eustis - 4th overall, Kat Favre, Jack Frain - 2nd overall, Julian Griffin, Ron Kalus, Sabrina Lawrence, Mary Lee, Allison Li - 6th overall, Alex Pawlik, and Isabel Prioleau) and our Middle School Math teachers: Mrs. Brockman, Mrs. Lawrie, and Mr. Zenauskas!

On October 19, 2014, we were Runners-Up in the Best School Booth contest at the Mt. Pleasant Children's Day Festival at Park West! Congratulations to everyone who helped design it and set up, and thanks to all of the USL community members who represented us at the Festival!

On Friday, October 10, 2014, USL hosted an accreditation visit and received our annual financial audit. These forms of external review of University School are vital in validating and providing useful into our operations and the learning experience for our students:

1) Accreditation - October 2014
A three-person team, comprised of college professors and independent school educators, from the South Carolina Independent School Association spent today at University School as part of our every-three-year accreditation cycle. They explored all aspects of USL, observed classes, and talked with a variety of members of our community. USL meets or exceeds all of the accreditation criteria, and their feedback was effusive and helpful. Here is the summary from their report:

"The team would like to commend the school on the following:
1. The positive school/church interaction
2. The healthy, positive school environment
3. Small class sizes
4. Flexibility that teachers have to instruct students that best matches the students learning styles
5. Student interaction with adults
6. The active engagement of students in the classroom
The team was extremely impressed with the school and had difficulty coming up with suggestions to improve the school."

2) Audit - October 2014
Here are the summary results of our 2013-2014 school year audit from the accounting firm of GlaserDuncan. USL has its business-side in good order and carries no debt. Although financial measurements will never be a true indicator of the School’s success, some are very important for the long-term health and viability of the school. One of these is how much of every dollar the School spends that goes to supporting its mission. In the case of University School for 2013-2014, $0.82 of every dollar spent went back to supporting the mission of the School. For our peer schools, the average is $.70.

In August 2014, University School was designated a Partner in Prevention for the 2014-2015 school year by Darkness to Light. USL has been awarded D2L's Partner in Prevention distinction every year since 2011. We were part of the inaugural class for this, and it honors our commitment to the prevention of child sexual abuse and to helping children grow up healthy and whole. USL faculty is trained in Darkness to Light's Stewards of Children program every August, and all parent volunteers for overnight trips take the same program and have their backgrounds checked.

On March 4, 2014, our Middle School Quiz Bowl team won their region. We will take part in the State Quiz Bowl on April 2. All of our region competitors (Mason Prep School, Palmetto Christian Academy, and Northwood Academy) were adept and kind, and we all had a fun time. This was an amazing outcome considering it was our first time ever participating in a quiz bowl competition. Thanks to Mrs. Logan for helping to chaperone the group, and we are proud of the students on the team: Alex Adragna, Patrick Boyle, Jack Frain, Daniel Kalus, Ron Kalus, Annabella Leone, and Gabby Villacres (observer).

Three University School 7th graders received State Recognition on the Duke TIP SAT for 2013-2014. Over 40% of USL students have received this honor in our history. Congratulations to Kat Favre, Jack Frain, and Hayes Richards. For State Recognition, a student must achieve a score higher than 50% of college-bound juniors and seniors on one section of the SAT. Kudos to Jack Frainfor also receiving Grand Recognition (scoring better than 90% on one section of the SAT).

We are very proud of our students who competed in the SCISA State Literary Meet on Wednesday, February 5, 2014, in Summerville and are grateful for the teachers who chaperoned them. As with our LOTCs that place students in all sorts of situations to learn, competitions like this allow students to test and push themselves -- and then learn from the experience. We participated in 1-2 events a few years ago, but this was our first year fielding a full-complement of students in the array of fields. So, in many ways this was a fact-finding mission for us as we expect to continue our participation in the future, and now we have an even better understanding of the competition in general and the individual events. Congratulations to Alex Adragna for winning 3rd Place in Middle School Extemporaneous Speaking!

On November 7, 2013, Head of School Jason Kreutner received the South Carolina Independent School Association's Dr. Charles S. Aimar Educational Leadership Award, which is presented annually to the most outstanding leader among the association’s 100+ schools.

University School won First Place Team at the South Carolina Independent School Association Middle School Math Meet on Tuesday, October 22, 2013, and this included having two of the top three high scorers for the whole competition. Congratulations to the participating students (Alex Adragna - 3rd overall, Thomas Boyle, William Eustis, Jack Frain - 2nd overall, Ron Kalus, Reiley Lake, Annabella Leone, Allison Li, Alex Pawlik, Hayes Richards, Gabby Villacres) and the Middle School Math teachers (Mrs. Brockman, Mrs. Lawrie, Mr. Zenauskas, and Mrs. Callahan).

University School won Best School Booth at the Mt. Pleasant Children's Day Festival at Park West on Sunday, October 20, 2013.

University School has done several projects at the International Primate Protection League for the Day of Caring for the last three years. This year we created a vegetable garden to feed the gibbons ("A Garden for Gibbons") on September 13, 2013.

A member of the inaugural class of Darkness to Light's Partners in Prevention, University School is committed to the prevention of child sexual abuse and to helping children grow up healthy and whole. All faculty and staff take D2L training every August, and the Moultrie News spotlighted this year's Partners ("Local organizations set new record in efforts to prevent child sexual abuse") on August 22, 2013.

Four University School 7th graders received State Recognition on the Duke TIP SAT for 2012-2013. Over 40% of USL students have received this honor in our history. Congratulations to Alex Adragna, Patrick Boyle, Annabella Leone, and Ture Nyman. For State Recognition, a student must achieve a score higher than 50% of college-bound juniors and seniors on one section of the SAT. Kudos to Alex Adragna for also receiving Grand Recognition (scoring better than 90% on one section of the SAT).

In mid-December 2012, the Alliance for Young Artist and Writers announced the winners of the regional Art Competition. It was USL’s first time participating in the art side, and thanks to Mrs. Logan for giving the nudge to our students to be the first to enter. University School of the Lowcountry had two students enter two pieces of work into the regional competition, and they both received awards: Sasha Grigorieff (7th grade) - Honorable Mention in Design for "Lucca the Cat" ; Samantha Hull (8th grade) - Honorable Mention in Film & Animation for "Sora the Marshmellow" Two University School graduates were also award winners: Anita Echlin (class of 2009) - Wando High School - Silver Key award in Painting for "Birds of a Feather";
Kate Frain (class of 2010) - Wando High School - Honorable Mention in Drawing for "Thanatopsis"

University School of the Lowcountry 8th graders took the PSAT in October 2012 along with sophomores and juniors across the country. As with our results on the Stanford Achievement test that we administer to all of our students every March, our 8th graders excelled on the PSAT and performed superbly in comparison to students several grade levels above them. Their average score on Critical Reading was higher than 74% of all 10th graders and for Writing was higher than 76% of all 10th graders (over half of them performed better than 90% of all 10th graders). Their average cumulative score in Reading, Writing and Math placed them in the 60th percentile of college-bound 11th graders.

On December 5, 2012, the Island Eye News shared University School's exit polling experience and success, and this included highlighting the polling we did at Sunrise Presbyterian Church on Sullivans Island and at the Isle of Palms Recreation Center ("See You at the Polls ").

On August 14, 2012, University School was recognized as one of 34 organizations that are Partners in Prevention of Darkness to Light -- a national leader in child sexual abuse prevention. “This group of organizations are most certainly on the leading edge of making our community safer,” said Jolie Logan, chief executive officer of Darkness to Light, in an article from the Post and Courier ("D2L recognizes 34 groups for efforts to end sex abuse").

University School had eight state winners in the 2011-2012 Scholastic Art and Writing Awards competition and one national winner! Congratulations to USL Writing instructor Jackie Scarafile, to 8th grader Sarah Hand for her national recognition, and to the following students for state recognition:Silver Key Winners
India Manigault - Silver Key in Flash Fiction for "Life on Earth"
Allison Horan - Silver Key in in Science Fiction/Fantasy for "Will of a Wolf"
Lily Frain - Silver Key in Short Story for "The Death of Rose"
Sophie Bello - Silver Keys in both Humor ("Welcome to Their Humble Abode: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Retold") and Flash Fiction ("Autobiography of a Baseball Bat")Gold Key Winners
Sarah Hand: Gold Key in Short Story for "Tracked"
Carter Falk: Gold Key in Dramatic Script for "Guardian"
Kate Fairchild: Gold Key in Flash Fiction for "Washed by the Sea"

University School students who explored journalism careers through the Job Shadow program had pieces published in their respective newspapers: The Post and Courier (February 6, 2012) and the Charleston City Paper (January 18, 2012).

While covering Ron Paul's speech at C of C on January 19, 2012, Channel 4 spotlighted University School's special LOTC to spread out across the Lowcountry in groups, and each student visited campaign events for two of the following four candidates: Gingrich, Paul, Romney, and Santorum.

The Post and Courier discussed the status of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream with four University School students in an article ("Keeping the Dream Alive") on January 12, 2012.

In an article about a competition for East Cooper middle schools to use CARTA, William Hamilton of the Moultrie News noted the strong support University School has given to public transportation in the area. This includes using the new #401 route for local field trips and making a short video about one of our trips. You can find the story ("Mount Pleasant middle schools compete in CARTA bus bowl") in the January 4, 2012 issue.

On November 8, 2011, The Post and Courier featured University School's pioneering Learning Outside the Classroom program. David Slade ("Middle-school students predict the winners ") specifically focused on the students' work with exit polling and election predicting in the Mount Pleasant and Charleston municipal elections. The Charleston City Paper also spotlighted University School's exit polls ("Middle School exit polls point to Riley victory") as part of its coverage of Election Night.

University School won Best School Booth at the Mt. Pleasant Children's Day Festival at Park West on Sunday, October 16, 2011.

Follow University School of the Lowcountry teacher Christa Brown's adventures in Nepal with her family for the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 school years by following her blog.

Congratulations to University School 2010 graduate Kate Frain for being inducted into the Spanish Honor Society at Academic Magnet High School. As the first graduate of USL's pioneering global languages program, Kate matriculated to AMHS with four global language credits. She is also the first 9th grader in the history of Academic Magnet to be selected for this honor. Kudos to Kate and USL's global languages program and faculty!

On November 5, 2010, four University School faculty members sponsored sessions at the SCISA Teachers' Conference at Orangeburg Prep. Tiffany Paeschke (online Writing), Bucky Buchanan (daily AM PE for academic achievement), Christa Brown (individualized Mathematics), and Jason Kreutner (1-flexibility in independent schools and 2- USL's Learning Outside the Classroom program) represented USL and shared aspects of our innovative program with their peers. Click here for the full program.

The Post and Courier had a special supplement section entitled My Charleston on August 31, 2010. University School was featured prominently in the education section on independent schools in the Lowcountry ("Private School Options").

In his "History's Lost Moments" column, Dr. Tom Horton examined the past twenty-five years of USL's Head of School, Jason Kreutner, with the Snee Farm Swim Team ("Kreutner's Snee Farm Swim Team Freestyles to the Top") in the August 18, 2010 issue of The Moultrie News.

Three Duke TIP students at University School of the Lowcountry qualified for State Recognition based on SAT scores received during this academic year 2009-2010. The USL seventh graders earned the award by scoring at or above the national average (better than 50% of the nation’s high school juniors and seniors) on at least one part of the SAT. The University School students earning the recognition are Kilbey McCormick, Zach Parker, and Maya Rawls. They will be honored at the 2010 State Recognition Ceremony to be held at Furman University in Greenville on May 26. A University School of the Lowcountry student has garnered State Recognition every year that the School has been in operation.

On January 27, 2010, fostering enterprising thinking in our students was the focus of an article in The Moultrie News ("Student speaks to employees about initiative"). It relayed USL student Carter Falk's speech at a Fortune 500 company's, SAIC, leadership retreat in Charleston.

USL Head of School Jason Kreutner appeared on WCSC-Channel 5 on November 4, 2009 to discuss the students' exit polling and accurate predictions of the Mt. Pleasant mayoral and Town Council elections. Click here to watch the segment.

USL teacher Bucky Buchanan's work with Louie's Kids was featured in the August 2009 edition of Charleston Magazine ("Shaping Up").

USL teacher Bucky Buchanan's work with Louie's Kids and their participation in the Cooper River Bridge Run was featured in The Moultrie News, "Cooper River Bridge Run a wild success," on April 8, 2009.

In the April 8, 2009 issue, the Charleston City Paper, in an article ("Reigniting S.C.'s School Choice Debate") about school tax credits, included a tuition comparison for several area independent schools. For what University School offers, it is an impressive value through this lens.

At the November 2008 Headmasters' meeting, Head of School Jason Kreutner was named the South Carolina Independent School Association's Headmaster "Rookie of the Year" for the 2007-2008 school year.

On October 6, 2008, The Post and Courier examined the important effort of Louie's Kids to battle obesity among chidlren of underprivileged backgrounds ("Students discover new life in Fit Club") and this included an account of USL teacher Bucky Buchanan's work as Program Director for the organization.

The Island Eye News included an account of USL's interdisciplinary "Seasons of Change" activity at Fort Moultrie on September 19, 2008 ("University School is hands on at Fort Moultrie'"). Click here for an online version of the paper, and then select page 11.

The Moultrie News noted USL's Head of School receiving the "Key to the City" of Mount Pleasant in the September 3, 2008 issue.